“We are not xenophobic, but…”

The march and the march's leaders say their movement is not xenophobic. He says that it is a peaceful organization. But the facts say something else and March and March are playing with fire.

Its founder, former radio journalist Jacinta Ngobse-Zuma, describes her movement as legitimate activism in the best interests of the country. She has reassured some of her supporters that she is not xenophobic, that she supports legal immigration, and that she only wants efficient law enforcement.

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But Ngobse-Zuma's rhetoric builds on South Africa's long history of violent xenophobic protests and tropes that dehumanize Africans from other countries and scapegoat them, whether they are here legally or illegally.

There has been anti-immigrant sentiment in the last few years Driven by social media What appears to be a coordinated operation. In recent months, March and March have been a prominent voice. It is not yet revealed from where he got the money to buy T-shirts or arrange transportation for leaders and supporters for the march across the country.

Recently there have also been several copycat protests, inspired by marches and marches but not organized. They have been violent. People have been forced from their homes, houses have been burned, and stores owned by immigrants have been looted. At least two people were killed in Mossel Bay during anti-immigrant protests last weekend.

on a press conference Last week, Ngobse-Zuma made a number of misleading and divisive claims. We've debunked them below.

Claim 1: Immigrants are criminals

She said, “We are … the voice of the voiceless, the unemployed, the drug addicts, the women who are raped and trafficked from this country by foreign nationals every day. And now we say enough is enough.”

There is a rape crisis in South Africa. Every day around 120 women are raped. But immigration is not the reason. studies found that 28% to 34% of South African men admitted to rape.

As far as smuggling is concerned, according to US governmentSouth Africans and immigrants are suffering. And both South Africans and foreigners – mainly from Asian and African countries – are the perpetrators of this crime.

There is no evidence that immigrants are disproportionately involved, yet delivery drivers, spaza shop owners, informal traders, and corner shopkeepers remain the primary targets during the March and March protests.

South Africa is a vital link in the global illicit drug trade. Transnational criminal groups from countries including Eastern Europe, China, Zimbabwe, Mexico, Tanzania and Nigeria have established operations in South Africa. These criminals often conspire to defraud South African immigration officials and enter the country illegally.

But Ngobse-Zuma's statements, such as “Nigerians are selling drugs in South Africa and destroying the future of this country,” reinforce stereotypes. Nigerians are among the smaller immigrant groups in South Africa. from the gang South Africa and other countries Contribute far more to the international drug trade.

Anti-immigrant groups say there are a disproportionate number of non-South Africans in our prisons – 27,000 out of 156,000. But the vast majority of immigrants in jail – 65% – are there simply for breaking immigration laws.

Immediate deportation of undocumented immigrants will not solve serious crime in the country. Immigrants should not be blamed for the government's failure to investigate and prosecute criminals.

Claim 2: Spaza shop mafias are running the country

Ngobse-Zuma claims that “The township economy contributes about R900 billion to the GDP of this country. This contribution is now declining because of the hijacking of our economy.”

Somali, Pakistani and Ethiopian “cartels” and their “spaza shop mafias” are “running our country”, he said.

Although the R900 billion estimate is credible, it is not falling short. In fact, it is likely to increase.

Many spaza shops are run by immigrants. Over the past few decades, formal retailers (Shoprite, Pick 'n Pay, Boxer, etc.) and immigrant-owned stores have Replaced South African owned spaza shops In some townships. Studies have found that foreign-owned shops command better prices than South African-owned shops in the informal market, mainly due to sophisticated and centralized supply and distribution networks.

Helen Suzman Foundation have suggested that, instead of targeting foreign-owned shops, which contribute billions of rands to the economy and create hundreds of thousands of jobs, the government could do more to enable South African informal traders to become competitive.

Claim 3: South Africa is being invaded

“We demand that the sovereignty of our country be protected. South Africa is currently being invaded,” Ngobse-Zuma said, echoing Donald Trump's rhetoric.

The government has failed to secure South Africa's borders. But the reasons for thousands of people entering the country illegally are complex, and it is debatable whether it constitutes an “invasion” that poses a threat to national security.

It is difficult to know the number of non-citizens living in South Africa, but depending on the source, it is around three or four million. This is about 5% of the population. Countries like Australia and Canada have more than 20% of the population made up of immigrants. In America and Europe it is between 10% to 20%.

that we do don't know It is a failure of the government to see how many undocumented immigrants there are in the country. Every year, border management officers stop and deport thousands of people trying to enter the country without proper documentation. looks like government big ahead efforts, and more people are being deported or stopped at the border.

“We know there is no way that immigration officers can screen 457 immigrants in less than three hours, when it usually takes a whole day to screen one immigrant,” Ngobase-Zuma said, calling for the recruitment of more immigration officers.

Ngobse-Zuma appears to be confusing the role of the country's 800 immigration officers (who check passports and visas at border checkpoints) with those of refugee status determination officers (who evaluate asylum applications). Immigration officials have to work fast and grant entry to those who have valid passports and visas.

On the other hand, the asylum system is extremely inefficient. It takes months, if not years, to obtain refugee status. Many people who try to enter the country legally remain undocumented due to government incompetence. It is also common for asylum seekers to experience corruption from South African officials demanding bribes.

The Home Department has Arrears Of the 161,000 people who have appealed the rejection of their asylum applications and are awaiting the results. About 71,000 of them renew their asylum seeker permits every six months; 90,000 have fallen out of the government's radar.

The Department's efforts to make the asylum system more efficient by limiting it have been the subject of several issues. court casesRefugee rights organizations are challenging the constitutionality and alignment with international law.

Fewer asylum applications are now being accepted: There were about 5,300 new asylum applications in 2025, down from 20,000 in 2024. Due to various barriers to compliance with the asylum system, many asylum seekers remain undocumented.

Claim 4: There are not enough jobs or resources for immigrants

“South Africa is on the brink of collapse at the moment. The economy is collapsing,” Ngobse-Zuma said. “There are no resources left for South Africans, and certainly not enough resources for foreign nationals.”

Ngobse-Zuma said the health and education departments “cannot serve South Africans properly because they have to serve far more foreign nationals than they are supposed to”.

South Africa's economy grew by only 1.1% in 2025 and the unemployment rate was 42%. More than a third of people aged 15–24 were neither working, nor in school or training. The government's purse strings are under pressure and spending on health and education is declining in real terms.

But the Department of Basic Education has categorically rejected claims that foreign learners are “putting undue pressure on the education system”. Only 1.8% of learners in South Africa are foreign.

The health department is plagued with corruption and spends billions of rupees in wasteful and irregular expenditure every year. More is lost in wasteful spending than it costs to provide health services to immigrants. Poor budget planning for population growth and internal migration also puts facilities in some areas under greater stress than others.

Ngobse-Zuma wants jobs like driving the Checkers Sixty60 to be “reserved only for South Africans to win the war against inequality and poverty”. He claims the illegal immigrants are working for Checkers Sixty60.

Checkers Sixty60 uses a third-party service provider that employs delivery drivers as “independent contractors.” Many of them are immigrants. The service provider requires proof of work permit for them. However, there have been some cases of drivers being arrested for breaking immigration laws.

Immigrants have come to dominate certain areas for various reasons. Immigrants are sometimes more likely to accept much lower wages than South Africans.